“They control 90%.” Lidl, Coffland and others: A blow to food prices

In a ČT24 broadcast on the debate on food pricing, Martin Hlavacek, MEP for the ANO movement, declared that traders are in an unselfish position. “We have 33,000 farmers, 8,500 food businesses, and then we have 5-6 retail chains that sell more than 90 percent of the food,” he added, explaining how food prices are actually formed. “Only in two places – the first is the freight exchange, which is at the European level, which is for raw materials, and then the shelves of retail chains,” he said. However, most large chains in the Czech Republic have foreign ownership. Lidl, Coffland and Albert are the leading chains in the Czech Republic.

“They are in your opinion, now we are really only talking about the production and sale of food in the Czech Republic, the rules are set correctly, in other words, the ÚOHS has enough whip, which confirms the basic principles. The market is protected here and the dominance of those big companies will not happen,” said MEP Martin asked moderator Martin Řezníček on the ČT24 broadcast of Hlaváček (ANO).

“ÚOHS is subject to European regulation, which is the same in all states, and I think it has a good reputation. I won’t go into that. Instead, let’s look at the market, which is my domain is really old. To give the audience an idea. We have 33,000 farmers, 8,500 food businesses. There are, and then we have 5-6 retail chains that sell more than 90 percent of the food. So, it’s clear here that traders are in an altruistic position, and finally some results have said this, and I think this is where we need to look for the problem,” said Hlavsek. Mentioned.

“If you want to inquire whether any food company in the Republic is abusing its position in any way, it is better to say it here, dominating 40 percent of the whole of Europe. I can tell you with one hundred percent certainty that no one has such a share in the food market of the Czech Republic – and not in any product. . Because even the biggest players are absolutely small compared to the chains that operate all over Europe and often all over the world. Fairy tales about how food prices are formed have a very short ending. Only in two places – the first is the exchange of goods, that is, at the European level, it is for raw materials, and then the shelves of retail chains. . . those are the only two places where food prices are formed,” Hlavsek noted.

The positions of the strongest chains in the Czech Republic by sales are maintained by Lidl and Kaufland, which is owned by the German company Schwarz Group, headquartered in Neckarsulm. According to the Peníze.cz server, The company is owned by 82-year-old Dieter Schwarz, one of the world’s richest men.

Other Billa and Penny chains also belong to a German group, this time Cologne-based Rev. Another German company, Metro AG, based in Düsseldorf, owns the Metro chain. It also has a small Czech footprint, with more than 40 percent bought by Daniel Kretynski and Patrick Dukak through EP Global Commerce. Globus is also a German company.

Albert stores later belonged to a joint-stock company based in the Netherlands – Ahold Delhaize, a British chain of Tesco. The only large Czech chain is COOP, which is owned by Jetnota, and the retail chains Hruška and JIP východočeská operate in the Czech market.

According to the TOP 50 ranking of the Czech trade magazine Zboží a prodej published by him Among others, the Kupi.cz serverLidl has sales of 73.15 billion kroner in 2022, followed by Cofland with 63.03 billion and Albert with 61.44 billion.

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